Spread the Word
The public has been sold a bill of goods about what is needed to improve our schools.
We see misinformation on television. We hear it from our leaders in both parties.
It is hard to explain the real issues in our schools when the media bombards the public with the corporate reform narrative.
Once in a while, some insightful journalist breaks through the media blanket.
Here is some good news: I just came across an article posted a while ago by someone who totally gets what is going on.
The author refers to Race to the Top as a “marketing” ploy for failed ideas.
He calls it a “race to the bottom,” tied firmly to Bush’s bad ideas.
It was posted on the popular blog site of Jonathan Turley.
Keep singing.
So will I.
We see misinformation on television. We hear it from our leaders in both parties.
It is hard to explain the real issues in our schools when the media bombards the public with the corporate reform narrative.
Once in a while, some insightful journalist breaks through the media blanket.
Here is some good news: I just came across an article posted a while ago by someone who totally gets what is going on.
The author refers to Race to the Top as a “marketing” ploy for failed ideas.
He calls it a “race to the bottom,” tied firmly to Bush’s bad ideas.
It was posted on the popular blog site of Jonathan Turley.
Keep singing.
So will I.
Hey, Kids! Let’s Open a Charter School
What do you do if you head the Connecticut chapter of Teach for America and you long for bigger worlds to conquer?
Simple.
You open a charter school!
The state commissioner is a charter school guy, so he is no problem.
You open in Bridgeport, where the superintendents doe his name by privatizing public schools in New Orleans,
All the right connections and the public’s money. No brainer.
Simple.
You open a charter school!
The state commissioner is a charter school guy, so he is no problem.
You open in Bridgeport, where the superintendents doe his name by privatizing public schools in New Orleans,
All the right connections and the public’s money. No brainer.
Jersey Jazzman: State Brings in Corporate Chain to Run NJ Charters
Jersey Jazzman has a sharp article about Commissioner Cerf’s decision to turn a local charter school over to a national chain. The chain is expanding thanks to a $9 million federal grant and extra help from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The chain has fewer students who are special education or English language learners, as compared to the local district. It spends more than district schools.
Is this a sustainable model?
Jersey Jazzman concludes:
“To recap: Democracy Prep’s practices includes more spending per pupil, a rigid “no-excuses” culture, high rates of attrition, and segregation by poverty, special need, and English proficiency.
“This is your future, Camden – imposed on you by state-officials and outside CMOs. Don’t even think about fighting back.”
The chain has fewer students who are special education or English language learners, as compared to the local district. It spends more than district schools.
Is this a sustainable model?
Jersey Jazzman concludes:
“To recap: Democracy Prep’s practices includes more spending per pupil, a rigid “no-excuses” culture, high rates of attrition, and segregation by poverty, special need, and English proficiency.
“This is your future, Camden – imposed on you by state-officials and outside CMOs. Don’t even think about fighting back.”
BREAKING NEWS: US to Milwaukee Voucher Schools: Stop Excluding Students with Disabilities
Responding to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Department of Justice warned voucher schools in Milwaukee to stop excluding, counseling out, or otherwise discriminating against students with disabilities.
“The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs,” DOJ officials wrote in the letter to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent
“The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs,” DOJ officials wrote in the letter to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent
Robert Shepherd: When Will We Ever Learn?
Robert Shepherd has long experience writing and editing textbooks and assessments. I appreciate his kind comments about my book, written in the 1990s, but also his recognition that “reforms” come and go with regularity. My comment: The current wave of phony reforms is the most destructive in the history of American education.
He writes:
“One of the reasons why I love Diane Ravitch’s brilliant Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms is that it
He writes:
“One of the reasons why I love Diane Ravitch’s brilliant Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms is that it
NY Daily News Reveals Top-Secret State Test
Yesterday I received an email from a reporter from the New York Daily News asking for my reaction to a bootleg copy of the Pearson-made fifth-grade exam for English Language Arts. This is part of the first tests of the Common Core in the state, administered in recent weeks to students in 3rd through 8th grades. Students spent about 90 minutes per day for three days on the ELA tests and repeated the process the next week in math.
I read the passages and the questions based on them. My reaction was that the difficulty level of the passages and the questions was not age-appropriate. Based on test questions I had reviewed for seven years when I was a member of the NAEP board, it seemed to me that the test was pitched at an eighth grade level. The passages
I read the passages and the questions based on them. My reaction was that the difficulty level of the passages and the questions was not age-appropriate. Based on test questions I had reviewed for seven years when I was a member of the NAEP board, it seemed to me that the test was pitched at an eighth grade level. The passages
A Scary Future? The Teaching Machine and Big Data: LINK FIXED
This is a fascinating and rather frightening essay about the quest for a teaching machine.
Philip McRae, the author, looks at the historical search for a machine that would standardize teaching, making it cost-efficient and providing a common curriculum. Then he describes the present-day efforts to aggregate Big Data, discover patterns, and create a platform through which content might be delivered to 100 or 200 students in
Philip McRae, the author, looks at the historical search for a machine that would standardize teaching, making it cost-efficient and providing a common curriculum. Then he describes the present-day efforts to aggregate Big Data, discover patterns, and create a platform through which content might be delivered to 100 or 200 students in
Wayne Gersen: What Obama Could Learn from Vermont
Wayne Gersen has been working in several districts in Vermont. He is impressed by Vermont’s determination not to allow testing to be the be-all and end-all of education. The state is determined not to let NCLB wreck its schools and not to ask for a waiver that would allow Duncan to impose high-stakes testing. If only Obama did what Vermont does!
Good Advice for Bill Gates about Curiosity
This post by Ysette Guevara offers good advice to Bill Gates about curiosity–how it begins, how it grows, how it can be stifled, and why it matters.
Bill recently said in an interview that few children are curious and self-motivated. This blogger was taken aback by Bill’s meager understanding of children and education. Given his background in technology, it is easy to see
Bill recently said in an interview that few children are curious and self-motivated. This blogger was taken aback by Bill’s meager understanding of children and education. Given his background in technology, it is easy to see
The Witch Doctor Curriculum in Louisiana
Crazy Crawfish explains why the Louisiana legislature decided not to repeal its “Science Education Act,” which permits the teaching of New Earth Creationism in public school science classes. It seems that a member of the legislature was healed by a witch doctor so he blocked efforts to repeal the law.
As Crazy Crawfish points out, it’s not all bad:
“Well, on the plus side, at least now Louisiana can start teaching kids how to be certified witch doctors early on in their public school careers. Since none of ouy kids will understand real biology that might be the best we can
As Crazy Crawfish points out, it’s not all bad:
“Well, on the plus side, at least now Louisiana can start teaching kids how to be certified witch doctors early on in their public school careers. Since none of ouy kids will understand real biology that might be the best we can
Sharp Decline in Number Entering Teaching in California
The corporate reform movement has been bashing teachers and public education without let-up for the past several years. The bashing became super-charged after the introduction of Race to the Top in 2009, because it explicitly blames teachers for low test scores despite evidence to the contrary.
The “reformers” claim they want “great teachers” in every classroom, and the way to do it is to fire teachers whose students get low scores, to close schools with low scores, and to deny teachers the right to due process. This is their formula, and they are sticking to it even though no other nation in the world has launched a vendetta
The “reformers” claim they want “great teachers” in every classroom, and the way to do it is to fire teachers whose students get low scores, to close schools with low scores, and to deny teachers the right to due process. This is their formula, and they are sticking to it even though no other nation in the world has launched a vendetta
Diane in the Evening 5-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy by dianerav Valerie Strauss does an excellent job of deconstructing the disaster of Obama’s education policy. Remember when candidate Obama in 2008 spoke of hope and change. That kicked many educators to believe that NonChild Left Behind would be ended, tossed into the dustbin of history, where it belongs. Sadly, President Obama built his Race to the Tip right on the flawed foundation of NCLB, and made teaching to the test a necessity. As the for-profit charters prolife... more »
